Or Register

Born on the Fourth of July

Yes, July 4th is the birthday of America, but it’s also an occasion to salute some of the notable people who share that date—and of course featuring those with the more interesting names. It makes for quite a diverse little birthday party—from NathanielHawthorne, born in 1804, to First Daughter MaliaObama, born in 1998. But we won’t be including three who erroneously claimed the date as their own—composer George M. ‘born on the Fourth of July’ Cohan, MGM’s Louis B. Mayer and LouisArmstrong, whose real date of birth was August 4th.

Emerson Boozer

Emerson Boozer was a star NFL running back whose entire career was with the Jets in the 1960’s and 70’s. Emerson was a strictly male surname name, associated mainly with RalphWaldo E., until actress Teri Hatcher chose it for her daughter in 1997. And the rest is baby-name history—Emerson is now Number 244 for girls, 364 for boys.